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Wildfire rages in northwest Los Angeles

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LOS ANGELES: A wildfire on the northwest edge of Los Angeles spread rapidly on Saturday despite light rainfall, a day after it forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents and triggered the closure of a major highway.


Fire officials told residents of about 200 houses in northwest Los Angeles and nearby Burbank to leave their homes on Friday as the so-called La Tuna Fire tore through brush, officials said. A light rain sprinkled the area, but it was not enough to contain the 5,000-acre (2,023-hectare) blaze, which grew tenfold in size earlier, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart. It is 10 per cent contained.


“The primary help we’re getting from weather right now is we don’t have high winds,” Stewart said.


The region was under a red flag warning from the National Weather Service until at least Saturday evening as temperatures were expected to climb above 37.8 degrees Celsius with strong winds and low humidity.


Video posted online by local media showed the fire burning along the 210 Freeway when it broke out on Friday, with smoke hovering over the roadway as cars passed by flames. Officials quickly closed a section of the freeway, which remained shut down on Saturday. The fire has not caused any injuries or property damage, Stewart said. More than 644 km to the north, the so-called Ponderosa Fire has burned 3,880 acres, or about 1,570 hectares, and destroyed 30 homes in Butte County since it broke out on Tuesday. It prompted authorities to issue evacuation orders earlier this week to residents of some 500 homes.


The blaze, which grew from a campfire that was started outside a designated area, was 45 per cent contained, officials said.


California Governor Jerry Brown issued an emergency declaration on Friday to free up additional resources to battle the blaze.


The man charged with starting the fire, John Ballenger, made his first court appearance in Butte County Superior Court on Friday, District Attorney Michael Ramsey said.


— Reuters


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